Parent Guide to ABA Services

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a science-based therapy that helps children with autism learn new skills and reduce behaviors that interfere with learning or safety. It is recognized by the CDC, NIH, and American Academy of Pediatrics as the leading evidence-based treatment for autism.

ABA therapy works by breaking complex skills into smaller, teachable steps. Therapists use consistent, positive reinforcement to help your child learn and succeed. We observe behaviors, identify the reason behind them (the function), and build a personalized plan that helps your child replace unsafe or challenging behaviors with more helpful ones.

Example:

If a child hits when frustrated, we might teach them to ask for help instead. This skill is practiced through repetition, modeling, and reinforcement—both in structured and natural settings.

Many caregivers tell us they feel more confident and better equipped to support their child after learning and using strategies from the treatment plan.

There are a number of behavioral approaches to addressing the symptoms of autism. In ABA therapy, a few commonly used approaches are:

Natural Environment Teaching (NET): Using parts of a child’s typical day to teach new skills within their everyday routines. NET is child-led and focuses on things that are already interesting to the child. For example, the RBT might use the time a child is playing with cards to ask them to label the colors of the cars.

Social Groups: Structured sessions where the children come together in small groups to learn and practice social skills. This creates a safe and supportive environment for practicing skills with real-time feedback from our clinicians.

Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT): Breaking skills down into steps and providing positive feedback to encourage the child to use the new skills. It is particularly effective because the steps are small and measurable, allowing for the therapist to measure progress and for the child to have many repetitions of the skill.

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS): Using pictures to communicate, it is particularly effective to reduce frustration with communication. The use of PECS is motivating to children, and promotes functional communication. You may worry that encouraging a child to use pictures to communicate could reduce spoken language; PECS is not shown to reduce speech and may actually increase verbal language. 

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT): Focuses on a few pivotal skills, which can be generalized to many other aspects of life. PRT looks at learning opportunities within everyday activities, for example waiting for a child to ask for a toy to promote functional communication. Providing the toy after the child has asked is a natural reinforcement for the behavior.

Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA): 

A master’s-level professional who leads your child’s treatment. They assess your child, develop the treatment plan, supervise the therapy team, and monitor progress.

Reach out to your BCBA with any questions about your child’s treatment plan or progress.

Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA): 

A bachelor’s-level clinician who provides similar services as a BCBA under the supervision of one. They may also help with assessments and treatment planning.

You’re welcome to contact your BCaBA for questions about therapy—they work closely with your BCBA.

Registered Behavior Technician (RBT): 

Your child’s one-on-one therapist who implements the treatment plan and collects data on progress. RBTs are certified through the BACB and receive ongoing training.

Ask your RBT about your child’s day-to-day experiences or how sessions went.

Clinic Director – Maria DiModugno, MS, BCBA, LBA: 

Maria helps ensure the clinic runs smoothly and that your child receives the best possible care in a safe, supportive environment.

Contact Maria with questions about scheduling, attendance, care coordination, or clinic operations.

Administrative Team: 

Our friendly front-desk and admin staff handle paperwork, billing, scheduling, and general support.

Reach out to the admin team for help with:

• Attendance updates or cancellations

• Billing or insurance questions

• Completing forms or updating information

• Getting in touch with the right staff member

Over the course of your time here with Born to Blossom, you’ll likely hear a number of new acronyms or terms. We’ve provided a list of commonly used terms below to help:

ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
A lifelong, developmental condition that affects how a person communicates, interacts with others, and experiences the world. People with autism may have unique strengths and also need support in certain areas like communication, social skills, and behavior. The word "spectrum" means that each person with autism is different — some may need very little support, and others may need a lot.

ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)
A therapy based on the science of learning and behavior. ABA helps teach useful skills and reduce behaviors that get in the way of learning or daily life. It is often used to support people with autism and other developmental needs. Therapy is personalized, goal-oriented, and uses positive reinforcement to make lasting changes.

Baseline
The starting point for therapy. Before we begin teaching a new skill, we take data to see how your child is currently doing — this helps us track progress over time and see what’s working and what might need updated.

Prompt
A gentle help or reminder we give your child to guide them toward the correct response. Prompts can be physical (like hand-over-hand), verbal (like saying “Say hi!”), or visual (like showing a picture). We always work toward fading prompts so your child can do things independently. Fading is used in ABA therapy to describe the process of using a prompt less and less with the goal being the child no longer requiring the prompt at all.

Behavior
Anything a person does — speaking, playing, crying, raising a hand, brushing teeth — all of these are behaviors. In ABA, we define behavior clearly so we can understand what’s happening, why it’s happening, and how to help.

Specific Behavior Terms

• Aggression – Hitting, kicking, biting, or other actions that may hurt someone

• Elopement – Leaving a safe area without permission or supervision

• Self-Injury – Hurting oneself on purpose (like head banging or biting)

• Property Destruction – Throwing, breaking, or any other behavior that results in visible damage to property. 

Intervention
A plan or strategy we use to help teach your child a new skill or to reduce a behavior that might be unsafe or disruptive. Every intervention is based on your child’s unique needs and is designed to be safe, effective, and positive.

Extinction
This is when we stop giving attention or a reward to a behavior we want to reduce. For example, if a child screams to get out of doing homework and we stop letting that behavior work (no escape from homework), the behavior may decrease over time. We always pair this with teaching new skills and reinforcing positive behaviors.

Motivating Operations
Anything that changes how much a person wants something and how much they are willing to work for it. A snack might be more motivating prior to lunch time, than immediately afterward lunch. An awareness of how motivations change is important to be able to create effective behavior changes.

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)
A process we use to figure out why a behavior is happening. We look at what’s going on before and after the behavior, talk with caregivers, and collect data to understand the cause (or "function") of the behavior — like trying to get attention, escape a task, or access a favorite item. This helps us create an effective behavior plan.

Reinforcers
Things your child enjoys that increase the chance they’ll repeat a skill or behavior. This could be a toy, praise, snack, or favorite activity. Reinforcement is at the heart of ABA — we use it to motivate and encourage learning.

Prior Authorization
A process where we ask your insurance company for permission before starting ABA therapy. It helps confirm that the therapy is covered and that your child meets the criteria. Our admin team handles this part for you.

Billing Codes
These are codes we use when billing insurance for specific services. Each code tells the insurance company what type of therapy was provided.

• 97151 – Assessment & Treatment Planning
  This covers the time the BCBA spends doing evaluations, meeting with caregivers, writing treatment goals, and planning your child’s therapy program.

• 97153 – Direct ABA Therapy (with Technician)
  This is for 1:1 therapy sessions with a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), where your child is practicing skills directly with a trained therapist.

• 97155 – Supervision & Program Adjustment (with BCBA)
  This is for when the BCBA works directly with your child to monitor progress, make updates to the treatment plan, and provide hands-on guidance to the therapy team.

97156 – Parent/Caregiver Training
This is when the BCBA meets with you to teach strategies that support your child’s progress at home and in the community. Parent involvement is key to long-term success!

1. Intake Paperwork

   Complete the intake forms to give us important information about your child. Once submitted, your child will be added to our waitlist.

2. From waitlist to Open Case

   When we have availability, we’ll send you contracts and releases to review and sign before services begin.

3. Initial Authorization

   We’ll confirm that your insurance covers ABA services and request prior authorization.

4. Initial Assessment

   You’ll meet with a BCBA who will:

   1. Review your child’s records (diagnostic report, IEP, physical, etc.)

   2. Conduct interviews and assessments

   3. Observe your child

   4. Develop a personalized treatment plan and submit it to insurance

5. Insurance Approval

   Once approved, services can begin! If insurance denies the request, we may appeal the decision.

6. Treatment

   Therapy sessions begin with your RBT and BCBA. Parent training sessions will also be scheduled to support you at home. Your BCBA will regularly review data and adjust goals as needed.

7. Discharge (When the time comes)

   Together, you and your BCBA will decide when your child is ready to transition out of therapy. Discharge is based on progress toward specific goals. A discharge summary will be provided to document all your child’s accomplishments and any recommended next steps.